I didn’t see the special but I went to a talk in our area a few years ago that convinced me the shroud is authentic. The pollen found on it, the fact that it absolutely wasn’t painted, the nail marks were in the correct place for supporting a hanging body, the image on the shroud is of an upright man, suspended in air, and on and on. After being initially shocked about the carbon dating in the 80’s, remembering that the shroud had been in a fire and that could effect the results of carbon dating, I’ve been waiting for the scientific community to retest the shroud. I don’t base my faith on it but it is SO fascinating.

I think what did it for me was the fact that they said the only other fabric they have ever found that was woven the same way came from a settlement dating to the first century. Once it dates back to that time frame, all the wounds on the body correspond to those Jesus suffered. Also, if someone was going to preserve a burial shroud from that time, it only makes sense to me that it would be Jesus’s. I don’t know who else would rate high enough for a person to unwrap a shroud from a body and keep it.

They also said that there was a cloth in Spain (I think) that is purported to be the head wrapping and a sister cloth to the shroud. That fabric has been documented back to the 6th Century and has the same blood type on it as what was found in the shroud. The blood stains on this cloth also match up with those on the shroud. As for the carbon-dating, they believe that the corner cut for the dating was one of the areas that was held onto when it was being displayed in public in the middle ages.

There was one person on the show who thought it was a forgery. His theory was that it was the first photograph ever made. But to make his theory work, the cloth had to be soaked in a silver solution and then a body was strung up and reflected through a lens for three days to get the image to appear on the cloth. That seems awfully complex for someone in the middle ages. I would think that if someone wanted to forge it at that time, they would have just painted it.

I have seen that episode in the past, and also read a few books about the shroud. There is no way that it could be a Medieval forgery. The late Fr. Francis Filas, SSJ was an expert on the shroud. He discoved the images of coins placed over the Man of the Shroud’s eyes (which would have been done to keep the body’s eyes closed in death). Under magnification the coins show the inscription of Pontius Pilate’s name.

I think what did it for me was the fact that they said the only other fabric they have ever found that was woven the same way came from a settlement dating to the first century. Once it dates back to that time frame, all the wounds on the body correspond to those Jesus suffered. Also, if someone was going to preserve a burial shroud from that time, it only makes sense to me that it would be Jesus’s. I don’t know who else would rate high enough for a person to unwrap a shroud from a body and keep it.

I went to a traveling exhibit of a display of a life-size replica of the shroud at Domino Farms, about 5 years ago, when Tom Monahan was still there. The exhibit was one of the most moving and emotional experiences. All the scientific results were available for viewing, with tons of photos and detail, displayed so that you could get nose close to them in such a way that you just can’t do with a tv show or DVD. It was totally amazing!!

The shroud itself that was there was an exact replica that you could view from all sides - it really was something else to see.